Lehner the lip lets loose

OTTAWA — Robin Lehner’s obscenity-laced tirade at the world junior hockey tournament wasn’t far from the minds of the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.

Lehner, pegged as the Senators goaltender of the future, displayed his colourful side following a 4-3 shootout loss to Russia in the semifinals — and we’re not talking about his yellow Swedish sweater. The ever-honest Lehner was outraged because officials originally signalled an icing call and then abruptly changed their minds, leading directly to a goal that gave Russia a 2-0 second period lead.

“F’n refs,” Lehner said. “You call icing and put your arms up and I slide into the posts and wait for a call and all of a sudden they call it off? That’s not the way it works . . . not the last time I checked the rule book, at least.”

Lehner wasn’t finished there. He also said the refereeing wasn’t up to the standards required for such an important tournament, and he said a similar event wouldn’t have happened if Canada was involved.

For anyone familiar with the 19-year-old netminder, who will return to the Senators’ American Hockey League affiliate in Binghamton, New York, when the tournament ends, the comments aren’t shocking. Lehner has never been afraid to speak his mind.

Still, Senators Swedish captain Daniel Alfredsson, who shared Lehner’s heartbreak at the defeat, says he will offer the goaltender some advice about choosing his words more carefully in the future.

“You put so much effort into a tournament like that, sometimes the frustration shows a little too much,” Alfredsson said. “I don’t think it’s an issue of forgiving. It’s an issue of learning. Sometimes, you have to take a couple of breaths before you speak, and I’m sure I will tell him that when I see him and a lot of other people will, as well. His desire and will to win came through a little too much.”

Verbal controversy aside, the Senators are excited about the on-ice experience Lehner has received while playing in such a fishbowl. At this point, Lehner figures to start the 2011-12 season with the Senators, and if the Senators drop out of the playoff race altogether during the next couple of months, he could finish out the season with Ottawa, as well.

Ottawa coach Cory Clouston has also been impressed with the play of Canadian defenceman Jared Cowen, the Senators’ first-round pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft, who has been a standout defensively throughout the tournament. Cowen, who was sent back to junior after an inconsistent training camp with the Senators, was used sparingly by the Canadian coaching staff in last year’s world junior tournament.

“The spotlight they’re put under makes (each of) them a better person, a better player down the road,” Clouston said. “They’re going to grow from it, going to learn from it. Jared’s a much better player (now). He didn’t play a whole lot last year, he wasn’t a go-to guy, they sat him a lot on the bench and he didn’t get a lot of minutes. Obviously he had a bigger role this year and credit to him. It’s a real positive for our organization.”

For Senators winger Nick Foligno, Canada’s victory over the United States Tuesday was also a victory for his brother, Marcus, a grinding forward, who dominated the Americans with his physical play.

“He hasn’t had a chance to play in too many championships, so this is pretty neat for him, a new experience,” said the elder Foligno.

Despite the fact that Nick Foligno has played for the United States in international competition — the Foligno brothers were born in Buffalo and have dual citizenship — he says there are no mixed feelings. While watching Monday’s game with Ryan Shannon and Brian Lee, U.S.-born players who skate for the Senators, he had to deal with their jokes about him being a “traitor”.

“I turned the roles on them and said: ‘If your brother was playing on any other team, you would be cheering for them’,” Foligno said.

“They were laughing about it. It’s fun to be a fan sometimes. I remember going to that game against the Swiss (a 4-1 Canadian win on Sunday). I was actually more nervous watching than playing. It’s pretty neat.”

Foligno also joked that “a few guys wished I played like Marcus, I guess.”

Ottawa Citizen

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